There are many things that can negatively effect the performance of a computer: age, faulty hardware, faulty software, viruses or malicious software.
This week it has seemed as if all the systems I serviced had slowness caused by the McAfee Security Scan. Over the past week, I have encountered this issue so many times that I am in danger of misdiagnosing the next slow computer I encounter simply because I am on auto-pilot.
Now, there is nothing inherently wrong with this McAfee software. The problem I am seeing is McAfee Security Scan is getting installed on computers that already have anti-virus software installed on them. A computer becomes slower after any anti-virus software is installed. That's the nature of anti-virus software and it is a necessary evil we tolerate to protect our systems. But when you install multiple anti-virus software solutions on the same system it can become extremely non-responsive.
The question is: "How is it getting installed?" It is common practice for software vendors to include other software installations within their install programs. I like to refer to this as Packaged Software.
Awhile back, the McAfee Security Scan was packaged with the Adobe Reader install. Today, if you download the Adobe Reader, it will come packaged with Google Chrome and the Google Toolbar.
You will notice in the image above, Adobe offers you the option to not include the Google software prior to downloading the Adobe Reader. Most software installs that contain packaged software will give you the option to refuse the install of the packaged software during the install or prior to downloading.
Like everything security related with computers, vigilance is the key. Make sure when you are installing software that you are taking the time to ensure other software is not being installed on your system.
If you find packaged software that you think is slowing the performance of your computer but you are not quite sure if you should uninstall it, give as a call at Binkley IT Consulting and we will help.
The question is: "How is it getting installed?" It is common practice for software vendors to include other software installations within their install programs. I like to refer to this as Packaged Software.
Awhile back, the McAfee Security Scan was packaged with the Adobe Reader install. Today, if you download the Adobe Reader, it will come packaged with Google Chrome and the Google Toolbar.
You will notice in the image above, Adobe offers you the option to not include the Google software prior to downloading the Adobe Reader. Most software installs that contain packaged software will give you the option to refuse the install of the packaged software during the install or prior to downloading.
Like everything security related with computers, vigilance is the key. Make sure when you are installing software that you are taking the time to ensure other software is not being installed on your system.
If you find packaged software that you think is slowing the performance of your computer but you are not quite sure if you should uninstall it, give as a call at Binkley IT Consulting and we will help.
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